Myanmar researchers train with international group of think tanks

03 May 2020
Myanmar researchers train with international group of think tanks
Lwin Mang Maung Swe, Thurein Aung, and Saw Kapru Soe (from left to right) in Geneva during the Winterschool for Thinktankers. Photo: IDRC/CRDI

The future leaders of the world’s most influential think tanks need to be not only brilliant researchers, but also excellent managers, networkers, and communicators. It is rare that researchers have the opportunity to build these complementary skills during their careers, and by the time they can take on leadership roles it is much more difficult to catch up, according to the IDRC.

In February 2020, three young members of Myanmar’s think tank community participated in the fourth annual Winterschool for Thinktankers to learn these essential skills. The Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) initiative, co-funded by Global Affairs Canada and IDRC, made their attendance at the workshop in Geneva possible. As part of K4DM’s efforts to strengthen national research and analytical capacity - with collaboration from KIVU international, and to promote evidence-based decision-making in Myanmar, K4DM supports training for more than a dozen organizations in the country, including think tanks, universities, and civil society organizations. This is not the first time that Myanmar’s think tanks have been represented at these international gatherings. Min Zar Ni from CESD, attended the previous Winterschool in 2019 and described his experience in a video interview.

The seven-day course — organized by OnThinkTanks, Foraus, and the Think Tank Hub Geneva — was led by experts from across the think tank community.

For the three researchers from Myanmar in attendance, it was their first opportunity to spend dedicated time with a global community of fellow think tank researchers. Thurein Aung, program officer at the Yangon Heritage Trust, Lwin Maung Maung Swe, program director at Advancing Life and Regenerating Motherland (ALARM), and Saw Kapru Soe, research associate at Another Development, joined 26 other participants who work on policy-relevant research, including seven from countries in the Global South.

The participants from Myanmar came away with a new-found appreciation of the diversity of think tanks. “There is no universal definition of a think tank”, said Lwin Maung Maung Swe. “It shares boundaries with NGOs, universities, research institutions, and the media.”

“We learned not only how the established think tanks function, but also how the new think tanks are finding their way in the knowledge market,” said Saw Kapru Soe.